It All Started With A Thumb War
by rin2yume
Summary: DISCONTINUED-Naruto AU- An All-Girls school merging with an All-Boys school. Tsukiko Higuchi could care less about being invovled with boys, but when she challenges one to a thumb war, What will happen? -Sorry, I have no attention span for this fic-
1. Day 1: Part 1

**Rin: Helloooooooo!  
Welcome to my second, yes, my second, Naruto Fan Fic. I wrote this one while i was bored. -Cough-Geo class-Cough-  
It's kind of a drabble. A little bit of incest. I'M SORRY!  
I hope you will laugh at this, most of my friends did.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.  
WARNING: THERE IS A LITTLE INCEST.

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I shut the door of my locker and clicked the lock into place. Today was the day that the all-boys school next door would be merging with out all-girls school.

"Man," I sighed tugging at my uniform skirt. I hated wearing a skirt. Perhaps merging would let us skirt-haters wear some pants. I glanced aroung at my beautiful school. Soon, it would be overcrowded with men. I didn't particularly care for men; I'd rather just do my own thing. I sighed heavily and set out for the gym. My friends, Kayla and Hinata, had promised me a seat. There was an assembly, where the student body presidents and vice presidents would address the opposite sex. I got there in the nick of time. The president was just stepping onto the stage. His hair was either a midnight blue or black with a few navy highlights. His emotionless onyx eyes glanced over the female population. I sat down in my seat.

"Oh my god," I said as the whole room of girls burst into screams and squeals. I for one, did not do such an undignifying thing. Kayla and Hinata were silent too. I studied the male predsident's posture. His hair was spiked back and his uniform sat loosely on his body. Then again, what kind of boy would want their uniform to fit tightly?

"Argh," I groaned. The presicent pulled out a piece of paper.

"Hello," he spoke, "I am Uchiha Sasuke." I definitely was not paying attention to him. Any pretty boy that captures the eyes of almost the entire female population wasn't really worth listening to in my books. I leaned over to Kayla.

"Did he just say his name is Sas-gay?" I whispered. Kayla shook her head and snickered.

"He said it was Sa-su-ke," she told me.

"I'll just call him Sas-gay," I laughed, shrugging. Hinata shushed us both as the vice-prez' came on stage (A/N: Don't take that the wrong way! XD) His bright blond hair stuck out in every direction. His blue eyes looked upon us all as he grinned goofily.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," he chuckled, "and I love ramen!" All the the girls burst into laughs except Hinata and I. This kid had ramen on the brain (A/N: Sound familiar?) I glanced over at Hinata and saw her face was beet red and she was twiddling her thumbs. I reached over and patted her head.

"You like that guy, eh?" I said to Hinata. All she could do was nod sheepishly. Suddenly, some random guy ran out on the stage, shoving Naruto aside.

"Hello, I'm some random cannibal named Zetsu," the guy yelled into the mic'. Then my other friend, Falcon, who I occasionally talked to, hopped up and wolf whistled at the dude.

"I'm here for Naruto," Zetsu sneered, "He looks delicious." There was a pregnant silence and two people burst in. One wore and orange mask and the other had long blond hair pulled into a ponytail. I was pretty sure that the person with the orange mask was a guy, but with the blond hair, I couldn't assign a gender to him. Both wore long jackets with a red cloud pattern on them.

"Well, we have you now, hmm?" the blond..er..it said.

"Zetsu will surrender and be a good boy!" said the oranged mask guy.

"Deidara, Tobi, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! Though, compared to Naruto, both of you look scrumptuous," Zetsu chuckled. Everyone in the gym was silent. Zetsu leaped off the stage and ran off into oblivion.

"Dammit Tobi," screamedd Deidara, since this one called the other by the one name, I assumed that was who...it was, "you let him get away." Deidara then bonked Tobi on the head and sprinted off after Zetsu.

"But Tobi is a good boy," pleaded Tobi, chasing after Deidara. Everyone stayed quiet. I smacked the palm of my hand to my forehead. The boys' principal took the stage. His face was wrinkled and he had three lines tattooed coming down from each eye. His white beard was pointed. I sighed again and sluched in my chair. Leaning my head back, I closed my eyes.

"Well now we'll call the girls' student body presidents. I welcome to the stage, Mimi Sun," the principal's voice faded as I fell alseep. I still heard the words at the girl's prez' spoke. I ignored them, basking in my blissful slumber until I felt something poke me in the head. My eyes snapped open and I saw two boys. They had the same hairdo, but one had brown hair and the other, crimson. I sat up and glared at the guys.

"Which one of you was it?" I growled. The brownie looked at his friend and then back at me. The red head did nothing.

"It was Gaara," said the brownie, pointing to his friend. I gave the red head - Gaara - a death glare. He didn't even flinch! I narrowed my eyes.

"Leave me alone," I muttered. "I have no time for boys." I turned around and looked up at the girls' prez' Mimi. She was a petite asian girl with long flowing black hair. I admired her for being able to talk to a large audience. I hated doing any such thing. I felt another jab, this time, into my back. I swivelled around and stared viciously at the two boys.

"Why are you here alone?" the brownie asked. I glanced to my sides and saw that my friends had abandoned me! They probably went off to find some guys to flirt with.

"My friends were here," I sneered.

"What a liar," snorted the brownie. I wanted to punch that kid really badly!

"Fuck you," I snapped. Brownie just leaned back in surprise. I saw the red head staring at me. I then pointed at him.

"Stop staring at me," I demanded, "or I'll beat you." My temper obviously had gotten the better of me. I sighed and turned aroung again. No sooner did I get comfortable a mocking laugh erupted from behind me. I turned slowly and saw the red head laughing his ass off. I lowered me eyes and took a deep breath.

"A girl, beating me up! What a thought," the red head cackled.

"Gaara," whispered brownie, "you're making a scene."

"Oh shut up Kankuro," Gaara said, calming down. He looked at me, "I highly doubt you could beat me at anything, let alone beating me senseless."

His dark aqua eyes stared into my grey ones.

"You wanna' bet?" I grinned evilly.

"Bet what?" Gaara sneered.

"If I win, I get you to do one thing, anything," I explained. "If you win, I'll do one thing, whatever that may be, for you." His eyes glowed with passion for a fight as a grin swept across his face.

"And the competition will be?" asked Gaara, raising, er, his non-existent eyebrow.

"THUMB WRESTLING!" I yelled in a whisper. By now, the girls' vice prez was making her speech. She was a tall girl with blond hair pulled into four pigtails. Her name was Temari, and I only had a few conversations with her. She was blunt and unafraid.

"Gaara, can this wait until after our dear sister's speech?" Kankuro asked sarcastically. Gaara pouted and folded his arms like a small child. I drowned out Temari's words with my own thoughts. So, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro were siblings. Temari finished her speech and Gaara held out hid hand. I took it in mine and felt its callouses against my smooth skin. His bony hands gripped my slender fingers. I looked away from out intertwined hands and into his aqua eyes, which held my gaze.

"You're going down," I smiled.

"Oh contraire," he smirked. Gaara and I started out epic thumb war. I stayed on the defensive allowing him to attack. WHen he tried to pin my thumb, I dodged it and counterattacked. I pinned his thumb using my swift deft one and held it. He struggled, but I kept his thumb down. Kankuro was watching, so he acted as referee.

"One." Gaara pulled and tugged.  
"Two." I made sure his thumb did not get free.  
"Three." Two more to go.  
"Four." Gaara gave a last effort for his thumb to come free.  
"Five," Kankuro said the last number.

"Okay," I smiled, releasing my grip on his hand. I allowed my mouth to tell Gaara what his task would be.

"I want you t kiss your brother, Kankuro, right here, right now," I grinned. Both of them leaned back in their chairs, wide eyed. They then looked at each other. I had an evil smile on my face.

"Gaara, you lost," Kankuro finally said. Gaara glared at me.

"I won't kiss my brother," he said. I shrugged and rolled my eyes.

"What a sore loser. Backing down on a bet," I teased. "IIt can just be a kiss on the cheek, Geez." Gaara sat there for a while, thinking about it. Without warning, Gaara had leaned over and kissed his brother's cheek. I found myself blushing, surprised that he actually did it. Gaara faced me again and pouted.

"There," he murmured.

"Good," I chortled, reaching over to pat his head, "You're pretty cool. I'm beginning to like you, Gaara." The look on his face was priceless. His brother pointed past me.

"Temari," said Kankuro, his face still a little red from the embarrassment of being kissed my his brother. I turned slowly to see Temari's eyes filled with fury.

"Gaara, why did you?" she held her tongue. It was probably because if she said anymore, her brothers would be most likely labelled as gay. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Gaara was blushing. The principal, whom I heard the boys call "Old Man Sarutobi," leaned over to the mic'.

"We hope this new school year will bring us great results," he said, " 'Cause I will be retiring. The girls' prinicipal will be taking over next year." The girls' principal was named Tsunade. I thought that she was a pretty cool principal, being strong and all.

"Students you are dismissed, your classroom assignments will be posted out in the hall," Old Man Sarutobi said. Everyone scattered, but I didn't move an inch. I swivelled around to Gaara and Kankuro who were arguing about whether or not to wait for the stampede of students to clear. I held up a hand to them.

"High fives for a new, good school year," I smiled. Kankuro instantly hit my hand with his and stood up.

"I'll go check which class room we're in Gaara," he said, then turned to me, "I'll check for you, if you want."

"Thanks, the name's Tsukiko Higuchi," I smiled.

"Right," Kankuro said, leaving to go check the classroom assignments.

"Your brother seemes nice," I said to Gaara, holding out my hand. "High five?" Gaara tilted his head, then slowly raised his hand. I smacked it with mine.

"This will be a good school year," I grinned. Gaara just nodded. I saw Kankuro rush back to us.

"You and Gaara are in the same class," Kankuro said sadly, "and I have to be with Temari." His face looked pained. I laughed at him.

"Temari is a nice person, I'm pretty sure," I laughed.

"Try living with her," muttered Kankuro.

That was how I started off the day.

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**Rin: Oh dear, what have I gotten myself into. I guess I'll continue this. I love how I set myself up for another chapter! I guess I'll focus on this stroy for a while.**

**Anyways, Please READ AND REVIEW!**


	2. Day 1: Part 2

Rin: Hey everyone

**Rin: Hey everyone! How goes it? Two chapters in two days. Wow. I am the shit. :D  
Anyways, I had something different in store for Gaara when I originally wrote that chapter (Which led to me drawing a black haired Christmas Gaara. DON'T ASK.)  
I now present Chapter two!!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the stuff that may appear in this chappie.

NOTE! I'm doing their classes Japanese style, which is where they have a set class, and the teachers rotate. They have ten minute breaks in between each class too, so unfortunately, Tsukiko still has to wear a skirt!

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Since Kayla and Hinata were no where to be found, Gaara and I walked to our classroom. We had Kakashi Hatake for our homeroom teacher and all of the boys knew that he was a horrible teacher. Anyways, Gaara and I walked into the classroom to find it in complete chaos. I sighed and looked around for a familiar face. I saw Kayla and Hinata and waved to them. They noticed me and waved back, so I grabbed Gaara's hand and dragged him over to meet my friends.

" A'ight," I said cheerfully, "This is my friend Kayla and this shy chick," I mussed Hinata's hair, "is Hinata. This kid, which I dragged over, is Gaara." They all muttered 'Hi.' I took a seat beside Kayla and whispered to her.

"Where the hell did you two go?" I mutter angrily.

"I saw a kid I knew and Hinata went somewhere, probably to find her precious Naruto," she mocked. Hinata turned to us and her face was still quite beet red. Gaara tilted his head and backed away. I saw some other kids walk into the classroom, I sort of recognized them, the prez' and the vice prez'. I sighed. The pretty boy and the ramen kid. Hinata instantly started to twiddle her thumbs.

"Just go tell him Hinata," I said loudly.

"No," she pleaded, "He'll think I'm like a stalker!" I glanced around and noticed that Gaara had disappeared. It was probably usual for him. I mean, heck, he just had to kiss his brother, courtesy of me. I began to laugh out loud as Kayla and Hinata just stared.

"What's up with you?" Kayla asked, arching her eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing really," I said, calming myself. Kayla glanced at the door again and someone walked in. She leapt to her feet and began to wave.

"Neji," she screamed. I turned to look at the kid she was waving at. Again, the kid had long hair, so I, for one, couldn't tell if it were a guy or a girl. I deduced that it was a guy, according to Kayla's reaction.

"Jesus Christ, Kayla," I groaned, "Is that kid a guy or a girl?"

"Neji is a dude," she told me in a 'what the hell' kind of tone. I shrugged and gazed around the classroom. A certain red headed kid caught my eye. It was Gaara and he was standing right in front of Sas-gay. They were talking.

"I'll talk to you guys later," I said, standing up. I don't know, I felt some sort of need to go and pry. My victorious thumb war had left me in a good mood. An unusually cheerful mood, if you were one to really know me. I shrugged in my mind; maybe having guys around wasn't so bad. I walked over to Gaara and Sas-gay.

"Hello," I smiled, pushing in between them, "Nice conversation we're having here." I just pushed in because I really didn't want to see anyone fight on the first day. The prez' just smirked and took a step back. He looked down at me then back at Gaara.

"And you are?" the prez' asked.

"I'm Higuchi Tsukiko," I growled, my good mood ruined by this freak of a president.

"Hn," he said, turning back to Gaara, "so, Sabaku no Gaara, you little girlfriend has come to your rescue." I laid a hand on the president's arm.

"Usually you give someone your name when they give you theirs," I said, frowning.

"Oh please, like you don't know who I am," he sneered. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke."

"Right, Sas-gay," I smiled, tilting my head in fake happiness.

"Excuse me?" he said, raising his voice.

"You heard me Sas-gay," I shouted. "Or should I say it so loud that even the heavens can hear me?"

"Tsukiko-san," Gaara said.

"Quiet for a sec', " I muttered, holding a hand up.

"So Tsukiko-san," Sasuke smirked, "What kind of name is that?"

"At least my name doesn't have 'Uke' in it," I sneered. "For your information, my name is written with the kanji for 'moon' and 'child.' "

"Well, are you like some sort of-"

"RAMEN!!" screamed someone. A blond kid appeared between Sasuke and me.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I love ramen. DATTEBAYO," yelled Naruto. Both Sasuke and I groaned and Gaara just stared intently on the blond boy. I backed away slowly from the kid. His hyperactivity was way too much for me, especially in the morning.

"Holy shit, you dobe," Sasuke shouted.

"Whatever teme," he grinned. I sighed and retreated to the safety of my circle of friends. Now, Kayla had been joined by Neji, Heather (another one for my friends), Falcon, and two other boys. I flipped my light brown hair, seeing as it only just went past my shoulders. My grey eyes blinked incessantly as I looked upon these people's.

The first guy, whom I didn't recognize, had spiky black hair and his collar was propped up hiding his face. I just, well, was creeped out by this guy, who also wore sunglasses. He shoved his hands into his pants' pocket and didn't say anything. I just shook my head for some reason or another and looked at the other dude. His hair was certainly messy, dark brown, perhaps even black. His canine teeth were definitely over developed. I pulled up a chair and set it in the circle of my friends. I sat myself down on the chair.

"So, looking forward to this year?" I asked, trying to break the silence that I had brought with me.

"I guess," was ALL of their replies. There was a tapping on my shoulder and I craned my head to see who it was. Gaara. I think my face may have lit up as soon as I saw who it was. I can't really recall who I thought it would be. I had a mix of happiness and excitement on my face. I think that the red headed kid was already starting to grow on me. Now, I had just noticed that his aqua eyes were rimmed with thick lines of black eyeliner. It didn't really bother me, people could put on clown make up and come to school and I wouldn't give two shits.

"Could I talk to you?" mutter Gaara. I nodded and stood up to follow him. We went up to the roof, where people only went to get away from the world or to tell someone something important. We were alone up on that roof. There was a light mist and the rain fell scarcely. He stood a little ways away from me. I felt some sort of anticipation.

"Gaara-kun?" I asked, trying to figure out what he wanted to talk about.

"Are you not scared?" he said. I took a step toward him.

"Why would I be scared?" I shouted.

"I don't know. It seems since I am so gothic, that people are naturally scared," Gaara explained. "I'm usually so emotionless too." I went closer to him. I reached out to touch him, but he turned and faced me.

"I could care less about what clique you say you're from," I said. "You seem like a good person. You wouldn't back down from the punishment I bestowed upon you, that won you points in my book. Anyways, I think it's just, well, you seem different from other people. I mean, I'm like, attracted to eccentricity. Seriously, look at my friends, Kayla, Hinata, Heather and Falcon."

"Serious Tsukiko," he said, narrowing his eyes, "What kind of stupid explanation is that?"

"Serious Gaara, look who you're talking to," I retorted. I felt pissed off. Did he not accept me for who I was? I certainly DID NOT care for that kind of thing, either you accepted me for who I was or you didn't.

"Why did you step in between me and Sasuke anyways?" asked Gaara. I shrugged and turned away from him, heading toward the roof's door. I felt a hand than a tug on my arm. I looked at Gaara and glared.

"Do you not accept me for who I am?" I yelled. "'Cause if you don't then I certainly won't talk to you anymore."

"No," he said shaking his head, "I think I'm happy." I smiled as I snatched my arm away from his grip.

"Good to hear and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't touch me," I smiled.

"To counter, we practically held hands during that thumb war, and you grabbed my hand when you dragged my over to your friends," explained Gaara.

"Touché," I said, raising an eyebrow, and then holding out a hand, "Officially friends?" Gaara took my hand and smirked.

"I though that you don't want me touching you," said he.

"That sounds weird," I chuckled.

"You perv'," he said. I laughed and ran off to the roof's door, threw it open and sprinted through. I wasn't watching where I was going and ran into someone. We both fell to the ground and I was on top of this person.

"Whore," was all I heard. I looked down at the person under me. It was Sasuke.

"What the fuuu-," I said. "Why the hell would I want you, Sas-gay?"

"I'm not fucking queer," he screamed. I got off of him and smirked.

"That's not what I've heard," I returned.

"What did you hear?" growled Sasuke.

"I heard that Naruto gave it to you in the ass," I sneered. Sasuke walked over to me and pinned me against the wall. His onyx eyes were glowing with hate. I smirked. I was irking him to no end and I found it funny.

"Tsukiko?" an almost innocent Gaara asked, appearing from the roof. I took the oppourtunity to shove Sasuke away from me. I went over to Gaara.

"C'mon," I whispered in Gaara's ear, taking his hand and dragging him away from Sasuke.

"Too bad Sas-gay," I shouted back at him.

"I AM NOT FUCKING GAY," Sasuke screamed, "AND NARUTO DID NOT GIVE IT TO ME IN THE ASS!" I stopped, taking the chance at even more humiliation.

"So how did he give it to you?" I said, turning around, still grasping Gaara's hand. I didn't want to let go. He gave it a squeeze and leaned over so his lips breathed against my ear.

"Let's go Tsukiko-chan," he whispered.

"GOD DAMN IT," Sasuke yelled at the top of his lungs, "I BET THAT YOU AND GAARA HAVE ALREADY FUCKED." That comment popped a million blood vessels in my brain. I tried to let go of Gaara's hand that time, but he held onto it. I tried pulling with all my might, but this time, unlike the thumb wrestling, Gaara held strong.

"FUCK YOU SAS-GAY! GAARA AND I AREN'T EVEN GOING OUT YOU JIT," I shouted. Gaara then stomped away, taking me with him. Sasuke and I shouted curses and insults at each other until Gaara had pulled me away from the scene. When we were away from each other, I was breathing heavily from all the yelling, but was slightly calmed down.

"Why did you pull me away from that fight Gaara-kun?" I asked. We were now outside, behind the school, sitting beneath a tree. My school skirt was a little muddy, but I didn't mind. Gaara let out a loud sigh and hit me upside that head.

"OW! What was that for?" I yelled.

"That, my friend was getting in a fight with the male student body president," explained Gaara. "Do you know what he could do?"

"Not really," I said naively. I was still sitting beneath the tree and Gaara stood up in front of me.

"Let me explain," he spoke. "Once, a kid had stood up to Sasuke, called him gay and all the jazz, the next day, There were some things about the kid posted up around that school. Trust me, this kid was shunned by all of the guys at my school. A few weeks later, there was news that the kid had committed suicide. Everyone felt bad afterwards, everyone except Sasuke."

"I'm not that weak," I countered, "after all, you're my friend now, right? Plus, I have my other friends at other schools and my friends in this school."

"I guess," sighed Gaara. I stood up and brushed off my skirt. I probably had a muddy butt, but…err…it didn't matter.

"Let's go back to the classroom," I said.

"It's probably lunch time now," Gaara chuckled, pointing to the large clock that towered over the school.

"Right," I smiled, "I'm not that hungry."

"Nor am I," he said. Gaara and I headed back to the classroom. My friends were waiting for me and I told them that Gaara was going to be our friend now. They accepted him, I think. I was pretty sure that something clicked between Gaara and me that day, the first day of our second high school year. I noticed during class that Naruto kept on sneaking looks at Hinata and vice versa. I heard that Falcon and Shino, the guy with the sunglasses, became friends, same with Heather and Kiba, the kid with the overgrown canines. The rest of the school day passed by dully, and we met our other teachers, Kurenai, Asuma, Iruka, and Miss Hap.

Little did I know, there was something in store for me in the next few days.

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**Rin: Right, before you flame, I made them all the same age on purpose, it would be too bother some to have them all in different grades, you know? I'm sorry about the mood swings that my character has, it's just who she is. I know that Gaara is acting a bit OOC-ish as well. TOO BAD!**

**Anyways, please read and review. JA NE!**


	3. Author's Note

**Rin: Right, so my computer got infected with a virus, so I won't be posting for a while, I'm extremly sorry, but I will still write and when my computer gets fixed, expect a LOT of postings!**

Thanks for your patience.


	4. Day 4

**Rin: I am back! HELL YEAH! Heh heh, my dad yelled at me when he was trying to take the virus off, but no worries. The time off the computer gave me time to play Pokemon. So anyways, This is the REAL chapter 3. I'm actually writing everything out, so right now I'm writing chapter 6. I will try to get the other chapters out as soon as I find the time, things are getting busy at school. This took me a while to type because my internet is screwed up and I couldn't save it. I WAS ALMOST DONE IT AS WELL! I had saved 'til, like, the tank top sentence. Then I had probably, two events left to type then my internet went kablooey. Anyways…**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, I own my OC's which there are a lot of. (My friends wanted to be in the story.)

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I was ready. I stood up in front of the class, facing everyone. There were 3 rows, each row had ten desks in it, all in pairs. Including myself, there were twenty-nine people. I pointed to the kid nearest to the window. He had blond hair and was eating a bowl of ramen, slurping loudly.

"Uzumaki Naruto," I said, then I pointed to the girl beside him. I said her name, then went on to the next person. I named them off one-by-one. Akimichi Choji, Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Neji, Aoyama Kayla, Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, Kanzaki Heather, Inuzuka Kiba, Suzuki Falcon, Nara Shikamaru, Uchiha Sasuke, Sabaku no Gaara, Rock Lee, Tenten were among a few of them, okay, they were about half the class. It was a naming game, we had to learn the names of everyone in our class. At least I had half of them memorized. My seat, in the very back corner, was next to Gaara. We were behind Kayla and Neji and adjacent to Heather and Hinata.

Two days had passed and I nothing had occurred, yet. Sasuke was lying low; he was going to surprise me with something devious. It seemed in his nature to be a snake in the grass. It was Friday that day, and everyone was rejoicing for the first weekend of the school year. I was not. I felt restless every night in constant worry. I had confidently said that my friends would stand by me, but looking back on it, I was so sure anymore. Reciting names and homework left me drained as well. When I was standing up there, I had almost called Sasuke by the nickname I had given him, but decided against it. Sure, I know I'm probably ranting right now, but I was, well, frightened. I had told Gaara the day before that I would be fine if everyone shunned me, but I was lying. I didn't want him to worry about me and I wasn't so sure I could handle being shunned.

My mother didn't help either. She was the kind of person who just smiled and nodded at every little thing. Yeah, I loved my mother, but I didn't think she would understand. She wasn't the one who witnessed that.

I sat back down at my desk. My elbow bent, my chin resting on my palm. I still pondered what would happen to me. What if my friends hated me? What if Gaara hated me? All the worry, it was caged up inside me. The night before, I had done something I never thought I would do. When my mother wasn't looking, I took a spare razor blade. I held it to my wrist, but didn't cut. Wrists were too obvious. I liked to wear tank tops, so shoulders wouldn't be good. I didn't wear short shorts, so I held the razor blade to the skin on my thigh. I made the cutting motion and the deed was done. The blood had oozed out, so I cleaned my wound. I knew that it would probably leave a scar, but oh well.

A poke in my side broke me out of my trance.

"Feeling tired?" an innocent voice asked. I turned to Gaara, who kept poking my side. I poked his arm and frowned.

"No," I snapped. A slight smile grew on Gaara's face. I sighed loudly.

"Lunch on the roof?" he muttered. I nodded quickly and tried to focus on the lesson. Kakashi-sensei wasn't doing so well with that. Nowadays, Gaara and I ate up on the roof. Occasionally, Kayla and Neji would join us. I found out, from Kayla, that they were friends in elementary school, but they went separate middle schools. Their reunion had sparked something between them. How, I really couldn't say. Despite Kayla's constant glomping and Neji's constant complaining and having a superiority complex, they managed to stay together. It was probably the fact that Kayla didn't want Neji to be snatched up by Tenten.

My shy friend, Hinata, had also found, well, love, I guess. I had gotten Hinata and Naruto together with a plan of mine. After a gym class, both of them were putting away the equipment. Hinata, being the cute shy girl she was, couldn't even set foot inside the storage room, all because Naruto was in there. I shoved her in then quickly shutting the door, I locked them in together. When I had let them out, they were holding hands and blushing. Naruto announced that they were going out. Plan successful.

Sasuke's P.O.V

Intriguing. Tsukiko Higuchi was intriguing. She dared to challenge him, even call him gay. Sasuke always firmly denied that insult. He scowled in his seat. Sasuke hadn't been able to come up with anything. Anything to make Tsukiko Higuchi miserable. He had nothing, nata, zilch. Frustrated, Sasuke pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote "Tsukiko" right in the middle of the page. Sasuke began writing the names of her friends around her name, beginning with "Gaara." He gritted her teeth. Sasuke's blood boiled and his heartrate increased at the mere thought of this girl.

"Damn it," Sasuke cursed under his breath. He felt jealous. Perhaps envious, because she had such a comraderie with Gaara, with her friends. Sasuke flipped the sheet over. He now wrote random words like "rumour" and "threaten" and then looking over them, Sasuke crossed all of them out except for "torture" and "shun." Sasuke then decided what he would do in order to make Tsukiko Higuchi feel as terrible as he did at that moment.

Gaara's P.O.V

He sat quietly, listening to the inane ramblings of Kakashi-sensei. True enough, the guy taught while incessantly reading the same book titled "Icha-Icha Paradise." Gaara sighed. He face crept back into his mind again. Groaning in his mind, Gaara snapped the elastic band on his wrist. He glanced at Tsukiko from the corner of his eye. She seemed droopy, as if she weren't getting enough sleep lately. She was his best friend in his mind now. The only one to approach him ever since her. Gaara had the paradigm that he would never be cared about, but that girl and Tsukiko were slowly, but surely changing that.

Though Tsukiko insisted that she was fine every time he asked, Gaara didn't believe her. She was a little paler with each passing day. He had to find out what was wrong, and soon.

Tsukiko's P.O.V

It was lunchtime. Gaara and I were up on the roof.

"What do you think Sasuke will do?" opting for a second opinion, while munching on an orange slice.

"Either threatening or torture," Gaara said, "they're his favourites." I nodded and ate another orange slice. I looked over at Gaara who didn't even have a lunch.

"Aren't you gonna eat?" I inquired. He shrugged and quickly snapped the rubber band on his wrist. Wow, I was slow. I had known him for a week, yet I had just noticed the rubber band just now. I held an orange slice to him. He took it, more like I forced it down his throat. I then pointed to the rubber band.

"What do you wear that?" I asked, getting in his face. "Tell me or else I'll continue to force feed you."

"No," He grumbled. I then shoved another orange slice into his mouth. Gaara kind of choked and I chuckled to myself.

"Tell me," I repeated, readying another orange slice. He grunted and turned away from me.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Gaara mumbled.

"Come on Gaara," I complained, "We're practically best friends now."

"NO," he yelled. I pouted. He must have been doing it for some reason or another. Gaara didn't seem to be the person to just snap a rubber band just to enjoy the pain. A memory of what my mother once said seeped into my brain.

_Flashback_

"_Mom, why are you wearing that rubber band?"_

"_Tsukiko, it's for training."_

"_Training for what?"_

"_Training to forget about that incident."_

"_Why do you want to forget that?"_

"_Just because it's painful." Then she snapped the rubber band._

"_Why'd you do that?"_

"_Because I remembered it."_

_End Flashback._

"Do you wear it to forget?" I asked Gaara, now back in the present. The look that he gave me was complete surprise. I sighed and stood up.

"You don't have to tell me what you want to forget, but I just want to show you this," I said. I rolled my kilt up a little, to show Gaara that cuts that I had made on my thigh.

"You know," I chuckled, "I never thought that I would do that, but all these feelings can make people do crazy things. This whole thing with Sasuke got me really worried, but I couldn't talk about it with my mother. I didn't know what to tell you, 'cause I was afraid that you would hate me. This whole thing is-" There were a pair of arms around me. I blinked and saw that Gaara was still sitting, his eyed wide. I squirmed a bit and the person held me tighter.

"It's Sasuke," He muttered. I recognized that voice, it WAS Sasuke.

"What do you want?" I growled. Sasuke's breath washed down my neck and then he put his lips near my right ear.

"How touching. You are such an emo child, Tsukiko. Enjoy your friends while you can," he uttered, "because by Monday afternoon, you won't have any, not even that guy over there." I tried shoving Sasuke away but her held onto me. Gaara just stared absently at us. An uneasy feeling coursed through me.

"Get off me Sas-GAY!" I shouted. Now, Gaara had gotten up and was advancing towards us. I was able to get away from Sasuke, though I fell on my knees. I crawled away from him and panted. Why hadn't Gaara interfered earlier? I was a little angry at him, but when I turned to look back, Gaara has his right fist raised. I scrambled to my feet and watched. Gaara swung his fist at Sasuke, but Sasuke dodged with skill. What Sasuke wasn't ready for was Gaara's other fist, which came up and his him square in the jaw. Sasuke fell on his ass.

"Stay away from her," Gaara snarled. I ran over to him just as Gaara was about to jump on Sasuke to beat him some more. I sprinted in front of Gaara, outstretched my arms and shielded Sasuke. I didn't think it would be right if Gaara beat Sasuke up just because the guy had hugged me.

"Gaara, I'm okay now," I pleaded. I didn't like fights, no, I didn't like people who started fights because of stupid things. I glared into Gaara's eyes. They were filled with hate and bloodlust.

"NO, he's a bad person," Gaara murmured. "He deserves to be beaten to a bloody pulp."

"No Gaara," I begged, grabbing his free hand and holding it lightly, "he may be a bad person, but no one deserves to have their ass handed to them on a platter." Gaara lowered his fist and I took that hand too.

"Good," I muttered, wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling him into a hug, "I may be a violent person, but I only use my mouth to fight." Sasuke had already gotten to his feet. I let go of Gaara and took a step toward Sasuke.

"Now, if you are planning something for Monday," I said, "I don't care anymore, because I have a true friend right here." Sasuke scoffed and grabbed my hand, pulling me close to him. Sasuke kissed me.

Sasuke P.O.V

He didn't understand. Was Tsukiko purposely being a hypocrite? Why was his heart racing so? Every word that this girl spoke, it made is heart race. First, she insults him, then she stands up for him? That's what it was. Sasuke hated hypocrites. She still confused him though. Some sort of feeling was growing in his heart. It felt like hatred, an obsession. Sasuke wanted to see this girl cry; he wanted to hurt her so badly for making him feel this way. So he did what would be the start of a long line of torture for Tsukiko Higuchi.

Gaara's P.O.V

Gaara was speechless and enraged. Why did Sasuke do something like that? Gaara was also kind of jealous too. He couldn't comprehend it, but he was. Gaara swore at Sasuke, at himself.

_Maybe it's because she's my best friend._ He thought.

'Maybe, maybe not,' a little voice replied, 'you never know.'

Tsukiko's P.O.V

I clenched a fist and it punched Sasuke right in the stomach. I swore profusely at him. I heard him coughing a little, but he was being a bastard, so yeah. Man, I was such a hypocrite. Nah, this was my sense of justice. As long as you didn't do anything wrong, do didn't deserve it, but that kiss just crossed the line. Especially since it was my first kiss too!

"SASUKE," I shouted, actually using his real name, "I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU, JIT!" I stomped my foot and shook a fist at the guy.

"What the hell is your problem?" I screamed, feeling the tears will up in my eyes. "That was, that was, that was, my, my, my first kiss." The tears escaped and raced down my cheeks to their freedom. I ran from them and headed down to the tree from the first day. I sat down under the tree, pulling my knees to my chest. I hid my face from the world and continued to cry. It was a few minutes before I was discovered.

"Tsukiko?" a shy voice asked. I looked up, tears still covering my face, to see Hinata and Kayla.

"Why are you crying?" Kayla inquired, tilting her head. I shook my head quickly and hid my face in my knees again. I was then pulled into another hug. This time it was Hinata and Kayla hugging me. A sense of comfort washed over me as they held me. I cried some more, not because I was sad, but because I had such good friends.

"Damn it," I cursed, "Why did I let my guard down?"

"You should as least tell us what happened," said Hinata. My friends let go of me and took their seats beside my under the tree. I glanced at both of my friends then around the perimeter to make sure that no one else was around. I swiftly wiped my tears and sighed.

"You guys are great," I sniffed, then I explained what had happened beginning with the first day. I didn't tell them about my cutting though, I couldn't tell them that. I stopped at the part before Sasuke kissed me. It quite well pissed me off a great deal. My first kiss was stolen by Sasuke, my loathed enemy, not to mention that Gaara did nothing to help. I paused. I wanted Gaara to help? Why? I was still sitting with my knees against my chest. The bell went off, signaling the start of period four, the period right after lunch.

"Well, see you later," mumbled Hinata.

"Tell the teacher that I went home sick," I said. It was true. I felt completely ill now. The only problem was that I couldn't pick myself off the ground. Kayla and Hinata left to go back to class. I was left behind, all alone. I sighed again.

"Did I want Gaara to help me?" I muttered incoherently. I sat there murmuring to myself. I didn't really get anywhere. Suddenly, I heard footsteps and I ceased my conversation with myself. I lifted my head to look at the person who was coming toward me. That red hair. It was Gaara.

"Tsukiko," he said, avoiding my gaze. I sniffed, feeling the tears well up again.

"Gaara," I sobbed, hiding my face in my knees. I clutched the fabric of my clothes in frustration.

"I'm sorry," a faint voice said. I looked up, a couple of tears running down my face. Gaara was still on his feet, albeit folded up so that we were almost eye-to-eye. His aqua eyes glowed. I frowned at him. His almost naïve stare was making me feel slightly warm inside. Seriously, Gaara was the goth kid of the school, even though was all wore the same uniform. What the hell was wrong with me? I couldn't pinpoint why I was sad, I was just afraid that Gaara would hate me. As long as Gaara liked me, I would be happy.

"Helloooooo," Gaara said, flicking my forehead. I snapped out of my thinking trance to pay attention to my best friend.

"I said I'm sorry," repeated Gaara. I felt myself blushing. What the hell? I was blushing? Wait, why was he sorry? Was he trying to lay on the guilty trip? 'Cause it was working.

"What for?" I asked, desperately wanting my question answered.

"Well, one, for losing my temper in front of you," admitted Gaara.

"No, that I can understand," I sighed. "Sas-gay is annoying."

"Two, for not stopping Sasuke when he k-k-k-kissed you," Gaara stuttered. I nodded and Gaara softened his gaze.

"Do you forgive me?" he asked, probably expecting me to forgive him.

"Of course," I replied, getting out of my sitting fetal position. I had forgiven him with the first 'I'm sorry.' I felt like I could never stay mad at him for too long. I leaned back against the tree and tilted my head back to look up at the leaves.

"My friends and I are going to a movie tomorrow afternoon. Do you want to come with?" I found mouth to be blurting all of this, but I noticed that Gaara's presence made me feel safe.

"Okay," he said. I looked back down at him and truly smiled. I felt Gaara's hand on my head.

"You're going to be fine, Tsukiko." He said. "Let's go home, I don't feel like going back to class." I hooked my arm in his and grinned.

"Tomorrow at one, at the theatre near the school," I said quickly.

"Right," noted Gaara, "'morrow at one." We continued away from school and Gaara took me home.

* * *

**Rin: Right, so if you were wondering about the pairing, it's GaaraxOC. Argh, I know that some of you fans of Tsukiko are probably hating me right now, but it's all a part of the plot! I promise you that the pairing is GaaraxOC. Gaara's really been OOC. Meh. I still really –heart- him. I think that everyone will be really hating me after like, the next two chapters. **

**Anyways, Please Read and review!!**


	5. Day 5: Part 1

**Rin: Right-O. Rin here, with another update of this fan fic. Darn, I need to change the title to something more, simple. Maybe just Thumb Wars…that gives me an idea! Doo Doo Doo. Anyways, I'm sorry for not warning you all earlier, but it actually seems there is a lot of Sasuke bashing in this story. Okay, I'll give the guy that fact that he has the troubled past and the stoic look going for him, but seriously, the guy's attitude needs to be checked. OKAY, Gaara has a problem with that too, especially with the, "Back off or I'll kill you," thing. I still really like Gaara's character. Right, I've been ranting too long.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I definitely own this plot, suckers!

* * *

I awoke that Saturday morning to the ringing of the telephone. I groaned and rolled over in my bed. My head spun slightly, yesterday's events had left me in kind of a daze. I hoped that my mother would get the phone. She had agreed to drive me to the movie that day. I had also put out the clothes that I was going to wear that day. I quickly looked at my digital clock, its red numbers reading "10:01 a.m." Who the hell would be calling my house at this time of the morning?

"Tsukiko," I heard my mother shout as she threw open my bedroom door, causing me to jump.

"What?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing my groggy eyes.

"Phone for you," she giggled, "It's a boy."

"MOM," I screamed, snatching the phone from her outstretched hand. She retreated from my room and shut the door, a wild smirk gracing her face the entire time.

"Hello," I grumbled balefully. First off, I was pissed because I had been awakened so early in the morning. Secondly, why would someone want to talk to me this early in the morning?!

"Did I wake you up?" the voice on the other end inquired.

"Who is this?" I retorted.

"Gaara," he said simply.

"Err," I muttered, "Sorry."

"So." Things were awkward. I scratched the nape of my neck, trying to find words to say. I decided with something that had to do with the movie.

"So I talked to Kayla and Hinata," I blurted.

"Yeah," dragged Gaara.

"So it turns out that both of them are bringing their boyfriends," I said, groaning in my mind.

"And they'll go off leaving us alone," Gaara finished.

"Fun," I snorted.

"Along the lines of the movie, I think that Kayla invited Heather and Kiba too," he added.

"Are they, like, going out now?" I inquired excitedly; other people's love lives were always more action packed then mine.

"Not yet," he said. "They just hang out with each other a lot, but they go off by themselves whenever they're in a group."

"Mmhmm," I hummed. Something inside me forgave Gaara from waking me up so early. I thought that he might have a better reason to call me this early, but oh well. My mind trailed away from the conversation. I lay down on my bed, turning on my side, but feeling uncomfortable; I slipped out of bed and got dressed.

"Tsukiko?" Gaara asked.

"Yeah?" I said.

"Just checking to see if you were still alive," he chuckled.

"I see," I muttered, a question popping into my head, "What time did you get up?"

"Five-ish," Gaara replied, "I think."

"What the hell are you doing at that time in the morning?!" I shouted.

"Tai-chi," he answered, almost in a whisper. (A/N: Okay, what else would he be doing?! He looks like he's doing Tai-Chi when he controls the friggin' sand)

"Oh," I said.

"What time would you have slept until?" Gaara asked.

"Probably, twelve-ish," I replied. "Yeah, I'm really bored at the moment, just trying to think of what to do after the movie. Maybe I'll go to the park by that theatre. You want to come with?"

"Sure thing," Gaara responded.

"Aww," I uttered, "I want to learn Tai-Chi. It always looks so cool." I bit my thumb. No, I didn't mean the rude gesture; I just like to bite my thumb.

"I guess I could try teaching you," Gaara said. "I have to go now, though; Temari wants me to help her with the dishes."

"Okay, bye," I said.

"See you," he muttered, before I hung up the phone, well okay, I pressed the "END" button. I threw the phone on my bed before I finished dressing myself. I sighed. The house was suddenly quiet. I froze. The silence of a house sort of scared me. My eyes darted around the room, waiting for some sort of noise. Then I heard a door slam and a car start. I think that my mother was leaving for work. I sprinted out of my room and down the stairs to the kitchen. I panted and saw a bowl of cereal and a note by the bowl. I went over to the bowl and picked up the note.

_Tsukiko-_

_I'm working late again. Be good and have fun at the movie. There's some leftover meatloaf in the fridge._

_-Mom_

_P.S Don't do anything too rash._

Her writing stood out on the blank page. I crumpled the slip of paper and shoved it into my jeans pocket. I sat down in front of the bowl of cereal and started to eat my breakfast. I was pondering, still spooning the cereal into my mouth.

_Why is my heart beating like this?_ I reached up and touched my face. It felt like it was burning. Didn't that mean I was blushing? Weird.

"Is it because of Gaara?" I asked aloud. I shook my head. I mean, I liked the kid and he was kind of handsome. I felt my face redden. I dropped my spoon into the cereal. It splashed. Perhaps, just perhaps, I really did really like Gaara. It would make sense. Why I always forgave him so easily and why I was angry at him for not stopping Sasuke earlier.

"I think I like Gaara," I mutter uneasily.

Gaara's P.O.V

She seeped back into his mind again. That woman. Gaara could remember her face, but her name escaped him. Her porcelain skin was framed by auburn hair. He recalled her brown eyes blinking curiously at him. Gaara moved slowly, breathing deeply. Tai-Chi helped him keep fit, but it did not mend a broken heart. Gaara finished his secluded session and inhaled. He exhaled and felt the sand between his toes. Gaara did not want to go back to his house. His father hated him. Then again, his father hated his children in general. Gaara's father always told Gaara that it was his fault that Gaara's mother and his father's wife had died. Gaara knew the truth. His mother had died in childbirth. It was uncommon nowadays, alas, that didn't mean that it didn't happen.

Gaara started back to his house. The small seaside cottage sat on a large rock that overlooked that sea. Gaara reached his house. Sighing, he entered his house without making another sound. Gaara headed straight to his room, skulking the halls, even though he knew that his entire family was still asleep. He entered his room, the large window now showing the sun beginning to peak over the tree line. He looked over from his bed to his stereo to his phone. Gaara was slightly glad that he had gotten that separate phone line to his room.

"God damn it," he muttered, grabbing the stereo remote. He pointed it at the stereo for a second, contemplating turning on the music full blast and possibly waking the living dead. Gaara dropped the remote on the floor and went over it his phone. He seized it from its stand and dialed Tsukiko's number. Gaara was about to press the "CALL" button, but quickly looked at his analog clock. It was almost a minute past ten.

"Tsukiko should be up by NOW," Gaara said to himself. Gaara went and sat down on his bed and pressed the "CALL" button.

Tsukiko's P.O.V

I sat in that empty house. The silence was scary, as if it were breeding the darkness that hid until nightfall. I sat there, wondering how long my mother would work.

"Shit," I muttered. If my mother was at work, how was I supposed to get to the cinema? I darted over to the phone and took it in my hand. I dialed Gaara's number with deft fingers and hit the "CALL" button.

RING! One ring.  
RING! Two rings. I tapped my foot and on the forth ring a person answered the phone.

"Hello?" the gruff voice said.

"Hi, is, um, Gaara there?" I asked nervously. I couldn't recognize that voice on the other end. I knew that it wasn't Kankuro's since he would've made a weird joke. Plus, the voice was so crotchety it almost made me shake.

"I'll get him," the grumpy person muttered.

"Thanks?" my polite word turned into a question. There was a grunt and loud stomping in the receiver.

"Gaara, you demon child, telephone," the person yelled, obviously not bothering to deafen his voice. There were some footsteps and a grumble.

"Hello?" Gaara's voice rang from the other side.

"Hey, um, I need a favour," I laughed timidly.

"Tsukiko?" he asked.

"Yupo."

"Yeah, sure, what'cha need?"

"How are you getting to the movie theatre?"

"Temari's driving."

"Huh?"

"She got held back a few years," Gaara chuckled. I smirked and started to twirl my hair. Whoa, I was twirling my hair? I stopped instantly.

"So, about that favour," I said, "my mother went to work so now I don't have a ride to the theatre. So I was wondering if you could pick me up on the way there."

"I guess it wouldn't be a problem," Gaara said.

"You know where I live, right?" I inquired.

"Yeah, it's a little ways away from the school," he replied.

"'Kay, thanks," I muttered. "See you soon."

"Yeah, quite soon," Gaara chuckled. I smiled and the line went dead. I replaced the phone on its stand and sighed. I felt my face. It was kind of warm. I headed to the bathroom to cool off. I turned on the faucet and splashed the cold water on my face. I was refreshed, so I dried my face. I looked at myself in the mirror. I could see the reflection of a girl. I couldn't tell who this girl was, but her face was full of worry and was rather pale. I figured out that the reflection was me. I quickly hit the mirror with an open palm. Did I really look that disheveled? I shook my head, flinging the thoughts from my mind. The house was silent again. My mind wandered back to that night.

_Flashback_

"_I'll get you for taking her away from me!"  
_"_It's not my fault she left you! Every time I saw her, there were more bruises covering her body!"  
_"_Why you…"  
_"_When she left you, I couldn't have been happier for her!"  
_"_Damn you!"_

_End Flashback._

My eyes flew open, a cold sweat also covering my face. I heard my heavy breathing breaking the silence. My eyes darted around the room and I realized that I was still alone. I heard a faint ticking. The clock. How could I forget about that?

"12:30," I muttered. I pushed myself from the couch and went to our foyer. I needed some fresh air. I reached from the doorknob, when the doorbell rang. I rolled my eyes and opened the door. There stood Gaara, clad in black and his eyes rimmed with black eyeliner. I glanced from him then down to myself. I was wearing a number of vibrant colours. A short sleeve red shirt with a short brown blazer buttoned up over it and acid-washed jeans with grey flip-flops. Okay, maybe I wasn't all that vibrant.

"Yo," I said, trying to act casual. Gaara gripped the sides of his black 'My Chemical Romance' T-shirt.

"Come on," he grunted, swiftly turning. I stood on my toes to see over his shoulder. I saw Temari sitting in the front seat. I waved to her. I hadn't seen/talked to her since the first day of school. I then jogged so that I was right behind Gaara. His clothes smelled of the sea. I smiled to myself. The sea. It was gentle, though unforgiving at times. Gaara herded me into their car. I buckled my seat belt just as he was getting in the car beside me. I sat nervously. There was an awkward silence before I broke in.

"So, Temari, I heard from this kid beside me that you got held back," I chuckled. She growled, but didn't stop the car.

"Gaara, when we get home, you are so dead," she muttered. I smirked, side glancing at Gaara, who glared at me. I shrugged innocently and folded my hands behind my head. Gaara then jabbed his finger into my side. I yelped then slapped my hands over my mouth. He chuckled.

"We're here," Temari grumbled.

"Awesome! Movie time," I squealed. "Popcorn, no, maybe frozen yogurt! Yeah, frozen yogurt!" I unbuckled myself from the car and leaped from the car. I ran inside. I stopped when I saw the three couples together. Kayla had her arms clamped around Neji, who was complaining, but nonetheless looked at her with kindness. Naruto was holding Hinata's hand, who was blushing copiously. Then there was Heather and Kiba, who were talking, about something or other. I raised my hand.

"Hey you love birds," I called, now waving my hand. They all looked at me threateningly. I grinned and ran over to them.

"Hey Tsukiko," Heather said.

"Yo," I said, holding up a peace sign. There was hand on my shoulder. I craned my head to see it was Gaara. He looked exhausted.

"Gaara drove me. What movie are we seeing?" I asked.

"What do you want to see Kayla?" Neji inquired, turning to Kayla.

"I dunno," she sighed, then looking to Hinata, "How about you Hinata?"

"I, uh…Naruto?" stammered Hinata.

"Oh, I dunno," he said, scratching that back of his head, "that's why I invited Sasuke, who actually would be able to choose a good movie." I gasped and mentally slapped myself. Did he say that Sasuke was coming?

"You invited WHO?" I asked, mostly for clarification.

"Sasuke," Naruto repeated.

"NARUTO, YOU MORON," I hollered. "Sas-gay is a fucking gay ass bastard."

"Isn't saying gay ass sort of redundant?" asked Heather, putting a finger on her chin. There was a tap on my shoulder. I expected to see Gaara when I turned around, but it wasn't him. A pair of onyx eyes met mine.

"Shit," I said under my breath.

"Who's a fucking gay ass bastard?" Sasuke asked. I smiled inoffensively.

"Maybe, some people shouldn't eavesdrop," I snapped, holding the fake smile on my face. Sasuke put on the same face as mine, except that it had more malice to it.

"It's kind of hard not to hear when a person is yelling," he spat.

"Maybe you should," I started. I swore at myself; I didn't have retaliation.

"Hn," Sasuke smirked, "I guess I win then."

"No," I yelled, "Go make out with, err…" I couldn't say Naruto anymore, since Hinata was going out with him, plus everyone was still standing there. I snapped out of my thoughts to see Sasuke's face right near mine.

"Cat got you tongue?" asked Sasuke. I blew a raspberry right in his face and swirled to face my friends.

"Let's go see the movie now," I cheered. The three couples and Gaara took off in the direction of the snack stand. I snuck over to Gaara, grabbed his wrist and pulled him over to the side.

"I am going to kill Naruto," I yelled in a whisper.

"So?" asked Gaara.

"Go asked Hinata if that's okay with her," I frowned. I bet any money he knew I was joking, but it didn't stop him from glaring at me.

"Fine," I sighed, "but make sure I'm not sitting anywhere near the Sas-gay." Gaara rolled his eyes and rejoined the others in the snack stand line. Concession stand! That's what it's called! Everyone got their food and we headed into the theatre. I think it was free movie day, so that's why we didn't pay for the tickets. When we tried to find seats, there were six all beside each other in the back. The couples took those. I laughed to myself, thinking about what they would do. There were four seats in front of them. I took one of the middle ones. Gaara sat himself down on my right and Sasuke on my left. I went frigid. I leaned over to Gaara.

"Switch seats with me?" I hissed.

"No," he grunted.

"Gaara," I growled. He shrugged it off and stared off into space. I grumbled and face forward. The movie began. I couldn't help but start falling asleep. Sure, the movie was funny and all, but there was something about it that made me want to sleep. I yawned. The man has such a terrible French accent.

"_Your mother is a hamster and your father smells of elderberry!"_

"What the hell," I said.

"They used to use elderberries to make wine," Sasuke smirked. I glared at him, earning a sly smirk. I rolled my eyes and yawned again. I stared at the movie screen again. I felt so drowsy. My eyelid's drooped and then finally closed. I drifted off into a sleep. I slumped in my chair and leaned. The left side of my head hit a shoulder. It was actually very bony so I readjusted a little bit. I was probably asleep from the rest of the movie. Suddenly, I felt myself being shaken.

"Tsukiko, stop your snoring and wake up!" My eyes snapped open.

"I DO NOT SNORE," I hollered.

"Do so," a voice like Sasuke's said, "and you drool." I sat straight up.

"Tsukiko," I looked over to see Naruto talking and smirking, "you say you hate Sasuke, but why were you resting your head on his shoulder?"

"Hell no," I cursed. I stood up instantly and glimpsed at Sasuke. He was rubbing his right shoulder.

"That's going to leave a mark," he muttered. At that moment, I want to go home, to cry and die all at the same time.

Sasuke's P.O.V

He didn't bother to wake push her away. Sasuke saw it as her admitting defeat. It wasn't even halfway through the movie and Tsukiko was out like a light. Sasuke had glanced over at Gaara a couple of times and all had done was glower at him with a look that said, 'do-anything-like-you-did-on-the-roof-and-she'll-probably-kill-herself-and-I-won't-be-very-happy.' Sasuke smirked; he was already victorious when it came to Tsukiko's heart, or so he thought.

* * *

**Rin: I'm done! Whew, that took a while. Anyways, I hope you liked it. I'm now working on chapter 7! As they say, 'the plot thickens!' Look out for the Sasuke Poem in "The Poems of a Lover." This is to make up for all of you Sasuke fangirls who will probably flame my story whenever.**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, read and review.**


	6. Day 5: Part 2

**Rin: Hey guys, this is a short one because I originally had the two days combined, but that's kind of stupid. So, Yeah, I might get two chapters of this out today! –claps for herself-  
****Oh, it picks up from where we left off; Tsukiko is still standing in the theatre. The line was taken from Monty Python and the Holy Grail if you were wondering.**

Disclaimer: The usual.

* * *

I didn't bother to stay any longer. I sprinted out of the cinema. I continued to dash down the street, since the theatre was near the park I usually hung out at. When I reached my destination, I found it abandoned. It was probably like that because all of the young people were moved out and there were only their parents left. I always used this park, mostly for some peace and quiet, I would leave whenever the old people brought their grandchildren to the park. I spotted the old swing set and I went over to it. The rust crusted the metal chains. I brushed off a bit of dirt on the seat and sat down. I pushed myself without lifting my feet from the ground. My feet became dirty, seeing as I was wearing flip flops. I sighed and looked up.

"I'm so stupid," I muttered and I knew I was. I was aware that Gaara was sitting on my right, but I still leaned over to my left. I rested my chin on my palm and blankly stared straight ahead.

"I'm a dumb ass," I said.

"Yeah, you kind of are," someone chuckled. I looked around and then a girl with auburn hair was standing beside me. Her eyes were brown like chocolate.

"Huh?" I asked, snapping out of my blank mind.

"The park is closed," she smiled, pointing to a sign that said, "CLOSED FOR IMPENDING DEMOLITION."

"Oh," I muttered, "Well it doesn't really matter if it isn't destroyed at the moment, does it?" The girl shrugged and blinked.

"Pull up a swing," I smiled sadly. She giggled and took the other rust encased swing.

"I'm Osara Kotori," she said.

"Higuchi Tsukiko," I replied, "What brings you to this park?"

"I'm moving back into this neighbourhood after a year's absence and heard that they were going to demolish the park so I wanted to see it," she explained. "How about you?"

"Well, I was seeing a movie with my friends and I fell asleep. When I woke up, I realized that I was leaning on the shoulder of a guy that I really don't like," I told her. "When I wanted to lean on the shoulder of my best friend, who I think I like, like."

"Oh, who is this best friend of yours?" giggled Kotori.

"His name is Gaara," I said proudly. I closed my eyes. When I opened them to look at Kotori, her eyes were wide.

"Gaara? Sabaku no Gaara?" she asked, suddenly anxious. I nodded and she turned serious.

"What school do you two go to?" Kotori asked.

"Um, a school that's near my house. It's kind of in the middle of the city," I answered.

"I'm starting there on Monday," she said.

"Cool," I smiled, "I hope we can be friends."

"No," she said gravely, "we are now rivals, or perhaps, enemies."

"Why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because we both like Gaara," she stated.

"Tsukiko!" I looked from Kotori's staid face and saw Gaara nearing the edge of the park. When I glanced back to Kotori, she was already running to Gaara, arms outstretched.

Gaara's P.O.V

Her. Her face, her hair, her eyes. Every part of her was now right in front of him. The mere tangible touch of her elated face and arms wrapped around him made Gaara remember her name.

"Osara Kotori?" whispered Gaara. He knew that Tsukiko was looking on, but his joy overwhelmed that fact.

"Gaara," Kotori muttered, "I missed you." Gaara's arm instinctively held Kotori's waist and his hand advanced to stroke her hair.

"I have something to tell you," she murmured.

"Like what?" Gaara asked.

"I'll tell you as soon as you tell _her _to go away," Kotori answered.

"Okay," he said robotically.

Tsukiko's P.O.V

I couldn't believe it. That girl had the audacity to go and hug him. I wanted to beat her up after tearing her away from Gaara. I saw Gaara's lips move and then he stared over at me.

"Tsukiko, um, could I talk to you later?" Gaara asked. I got off the swing and smiled.

"Okay," I said, "I'll see you." I clasped two fists and turned away. I took a couple of slow steps, and then broke into a run. As long as Gaara was happy, I could be happy. I told myself that over and over again. Tears stung at my eyes, so I let them fall. I ran back to the theatre, hoping that one of my friends would still be there.

How wrong I was.

Gaara's P.O.V

After Tsukiko left, Gaara had felt a little guilty for sending her away. Kotori had a look of victory on her face. Gaara could see it.

"Gaara, I'm sorry for turning you down before I left," Kotori confessed. "Though, I think it's safe to say it now."

"What?" Gaara asked obliviously.

"I like you," Kotori smiled, and then crashed her lips against Gaara's. He tensed at the sudden force of the kiss, but he eventually eased into it. Kotori deepened the kiss and Gaara made no motion to stop her. He was finally getting what he had longed for.

Tsukiko's P.O.V

I arrived at the theatre, tears still draining from my eyes. I had seen that Sasuke was the only on there. I was in such bad shape that I didn't give a shit. I ran over to him and buried my face into his chest.

"Gaara, love, Kotori, me, Osara, away," I blubbered through my sobs. Sasuke looked surprised when I said the word Osara. He comforted me. Sasuke, almost my arch nemesis, had comforted me. While soothing me, he picked me up and carried me. Sasuke gently rocked me, like he was lulling a small child. He took me home, where my mother was waiting. She let Sasuke put me in my bed and then he explained what he could decipher from my rambling. I heard his explanation then fell asleep; I was exhausted from all the crying I had done.

* * *

**Rin: For all of you Tsukiko fans, I'm SORRY! I created Kotori to help advance the plot, make it more interesting. I promise that…well I'm not telling you what I'm going to promise. -laughs-  
****I'm working on it! Plus, I've been crazed about this ninja fan fiction I'm writing at the moment. My notebook is almost full. –sweat drop- If you are wondering about it, the story I'm working on follows the plot of Naruto, starting with the Chuunin exams.**


	7. Day 6

**Rin: Chapter six! Wow, I'm sorry that this took so long. I've been spending a lot of time on that other story. I'm almost finished it though! Yay me! So, back to this story, okay, I know that some, or a lot, of you were shocked by the turn of events, but yeah, I created Kotori in mind with the actual outcome of the story.**

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of the phone ringing. Was I experiencing déjà vu? Yeah, probably. The phone continued its high pitched screams. I literally rolled out of bed and picked up the phone. My mother had obviously gone to work without waking me up, since it was Sunday.

"Hello?" I groaned groggily.

"Glad to see you're awake," a snide voice said.

"Who is this?" I asked, though I already had a clue who the person was.

"Hn," he said.

"How did you get this number?" I snapped, suddenly feeling awake.

"Your mother," he stated, "she thought I was such a charming young man." I burst out laughing. My mother had no taste at all.

"Hn," was his reply.

"How seriously, why are you calling?" I inquired, glancing at the clock, '10:31 a.m.'

"I don't know," he answered.

"Then, I'm hanging up," I blurted.

"What are you going to do about Gaara?" Sasuke asked. What the hell. Of course he had to bring that up.

"Screw you Sasuke," I snapped, then I quickly hung up on him. I stumbled and my shoulder hit the wall. Slumping to the ground, I couldn't feel anything.

"Damn it," I muttered. I pressed my palm to my forehead. I could feel my heart tightening. Suddenly, the phone rang again. I picked it up.

"What the hell do you want?" I yelled into the phone.

"I-I-is this a bad time?" stuttered a female voice.

"Hinata? I'm sorry," I said.

"How are you? I mean, after what happened with Gaara yesterday," she asked sheepishly.

"Who told you?" I demanded.

"Sasuke told Naruto, who told me, so I told Kayla, who told Neji," she explained.

"Wait," I interrupted, "How many people know?"

"Everyone in our class, probably," she commented.

"Darn," I muttered.

"Tsukiko?"

"Yeah?"

"Gaara feels really bad about it," said Hinata.

"Why would he?" I inquired, though my free hand was already shaking.

"Sasuke told Gaara that you liked him," Hinata's voice sounded nervous. "Do you really like Gaara?" I couldn't find any words. I felt really empty at the moment.

"Hinata," I murmured, "I'll see you later." With those words, I hung up on her. I dropped the phone on the ground and got to my feet. I walked drunkenly to the bathroom. My hands were quivering as if I had just lived through an earthquake. I clenched then into fists, digging my nails into my palms. I opened my hands and there were small cuts on my palms. The blood ran and I quickly turned on the tap using my elbow. I washed the blood away and bandaged the wounds. I turned off the tap and gripped the edges of the sink. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that it was all a dream. When I opened them, I could feel the darkness growing.

Sasuke's P.O.V

He felt compelled. Sasuke didn't understand why he felt so angry that Tsukiko was crying over her friend. All because Gaara had chosen another girl. It didn't make sense to him, probably because he couldn't figure out his own feelings.

When Sasuke called her, Tsukiko sounded terrible. It was most likely because he had woken her up with his call. Something was out of place though too. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something. Unfortunately, just like always, the two of them got into a fight. Sasuke recalled what had happened the night before after he had left Tsukiko to her mother.

_Flashback_

_Sasuke was walking down the road away from Tsukiko's house. He had just dropped her off. A person with crimson hair was running toward him._

"_Gaara," Sasuke said. Gaara dashed up to him, his aqua eyes full of worry._

"_Sasuke, where's Tsukiko?" asked Gaara between pants._

"_I just dropped her off at her house," Sasuke started. "She was in pretty bad shape."_

"_I have to-"_

"_No," Sasuke said, glaring at Gaara, "I think whatever you did to hurt her will be enough for today."_

"_Why do you say that?" inquired Gaara, who folded his arms._

"_I say that because she obviously likes you," Sasuke snapped, unaware that his hunch was the truth._

"_Psht, look at you," Gaara scoffed, "you are getting quite worked up over that fact. YOU obviously like Tsukiko."_

"_Hn," Sasuke grunted, taking a few steps toward Gaara, "then I will take this oppourtunity to make her heart mine."_

"_I now have what I've been longing for," Gaara said, "so, be my guest."_

"_I'll make myself at home," Sasuke smirked. The two boys parted._

_End Flashback_

Now it made sense. Everything he did. Sasuke now was aware that he liked Tsukiko. He grumbled at the thought. Even now, Sasuke was cursing his emotions that brought him to her doorstep. It even made him knock on the door.

Tsukiko's P.O.V

When I answered the door, it was Sasuke standing there. I looked away from him, feeling embarrassed.

"What do you want?" I barked, not bothering to look at him.

"You look outstanding in your pajamas," he smirked. I didn't care either way what he thought of me.

"Whatever Sas-gay," I mumbled.

"Could I talk to you privately?" he asked.

"I guess," I said, stepping aside to let him in.

"Thanks," he said. I shut the front door and led him to the kitchen. He took a seat at the table and I offered him a glass of water. Sasuke refused. I then sat at the seat across from him and folded my hands together.

"What brings you to my humble abode?" I asked sarcastically.

"Just to see how you were doing," he asserted.

"The phone call wasn't enough? No matter, I'm fine, so you can leave," I leered.

"I don't feel like leaving yet," he said, side glancing at me. I groaned and folded my arms on the table. Sasuke swiftly grabbed one of my hands and ripped off the bandage.

"If you really are fine, then what are these on your palms?" he asked, examining the cuts.

"I scraped my palms when I fell this morning," I lied. I was a terrible liar but maybe Sasuke was dumb enough to fall for it. How unlikely.

"You lie," he said, leaning in my face, from across the table. "These aren't scrape cuts, they're nail cuts."

"So I dug my nails into my palms a bit too hard," I muttered, "that doesn't mean I did it on purpose."

"Don't mess with me," the Uchiha said. I was silent. How could he see right though me?

"Sorry," I mumbled, "but you still went around and told everyone."

"Yeah, well sorry if I think your friends should know what happened," Sasuke retorted.

"Could I leave now?" I yelled, slamming my hands on the table and standing. "I've had enough. I am going to call my mother."

"Wouldn't a girl usually call her father in a situation like this?" Sasuke asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Well sorry to disappoint you, but my father is dead," I shouted, side stepping the table. I headed for the phone but was stopped by Sasuke.

"Was he murdered?" he asked.

"Yes," I whispered.

"Don't you want revenge?" inquired Sasuke, his voice becoming angry.

"There's no point in revenge, since after you get it, there usually isn't anything left for yourself," I sighed. He retreated a bit and I shoved past him. I remember my mother reading the newspaper to me that day. The murdering of the entire Uchiha family, but there was one lone survivor, the young Sasuke Uchiha. His entire family was murdered by his brother, Itachi, who is still at large to this day.

My father had been murdered by one of my mother's crazy ex-boyfriends. The ex' was jealous of my father and wanted my mother to himself. I was hiding in my closet that night and watched as my father fought the ex' and was murdered. That guy is still out there somewhere in the world to this day. After witnessing it all, I became mute. When I entered high school, there were people who would talk to me, and they were able to unlock the words hidden in my heart.

I gripped the phone and Sasuke's hand gripped my hand.

"Why are you being such a bastard about this?" I asked.

"I really can't say myself," he uttered. I turned around, yanking my hand off the phone.

"Then leave me alone," I said.

"I don't feel like it nor do I want to," she smiled slyly. I leaned against the counter, since his face was closing in on mine.

"I'm not falling for your guile again, Monsieur Presidente," I snapped.

"What if I wasn't joking at all?" he asked.

"Then, I don't-," Sasuke snapped away and put his hand on my mouth before I could finish. There was a loud pounding on my front door.

"I'll get it," he muttered, touching my shoulder.

"But this is my house," I said, rushing after him. I was too late, as Sasuke had already opened the door. There stood Hinata, Naruto, Heather, Kiba, and Gaara. I saw them all and I just hid behind Sasuke when I noticed Gaara.  
"Sasuke, what are you doing here, teme?" Naruto shouted.

"Tsukiko invited me over," Sasuke shrugged.

"I did not," I hissed.

"So, we were all heading for the mall and we were passing through here and decided to invite her," Heather explained.

"But if you two are busy," Kiba smirked. I could feel Gaara's glare. I didn't know why he was glaring at me, but I had a hunch that it had to do with Sasuke.

"We were busy, now go away," Sasuke growled, slamming the door in their faces.

"That was rude," I yelled after my friends had gotten a good distance away from my house. Turning to Sasuke, I folded my arms and glowered. He moved closer to me. His onyx eyes were alit with something almost carnal. I went to my door and opened it for him.

"Leave NOW," I said, an anger burning in my heart. Sasuke sighed and went to lean against the wall opposite to the door. I continued to glare at him. I gestured at the door.

"Vexed," Sasuke said, "you make me so very vexed."

"Whatever," I scoffed, "just leave." Sasuke smirked. He SMIRKED! I slammed the door shut and put my hands on my hips.

"Why won't you just leave me ALONE?" I exclaimed. Sasuke looked away and scratched the back of his spiky-haired head. I grew increasingly irate.

"Why?" I yelled, half begging him to answer. "Ever since we've met, you haven't left me alone! I've been living in fear of what you will do! Then, you stole my first kiss, you bastard! Now, right when I figure out that I like Gaara, he finds another girl and practically leaves me without a paddle. What am I supposed to do?" The tears gathered and then fell. So much crying, it made me feel completely tiny against what was happening to me. I covered my face with my hands, trying to wipe every droplet. Then, Sasuke hugged me, again. It was like the day before, when I was crying. I felt somewhat soothed; I had no reason to be, but I was. Gaara's face still entered my mind, and my chest tightened with pain. His next words were comprehendible, yet, incomprehensible.

"Even if you still like Gaara," Sasuke muttered, "would you be willing to give me a chance?" I was speechless. I concluded that he said that only because he was in the heat of a moment. Sasuke broke the embrace and bade me farewell.

"Things are just getting more and more upside down," I muttered after Sasuke had left.

* * *

**Rin: Done. Finally, I've typed up chapter six for you, my beloved readers. Yeah, okay, things are getting a bit angsty, but I will aim for getting that humour back. Okay, so I checked over my rough drafts and yes, there is some humour in the next chapter! I will try to find some time to put it out, but things are getting busy with the end of the school year rearing its ugly head.**


	8. Day 7

**Rin: Welcome, welcome, welcome. I present chapter seven! Sorry for taking so long… This one's a long'un. Okay, warning there is some Sasuke-bashing, but I think even you Sasuke fans will find it a little humorous. **

Disclaimer: I claim the right to say 'ditto' to what I had previously.

* * *

I didn't want to go to school. Everything felt so, painful. I told my mother that I didn't feel well, but she didn't believe me. I walked sluggishly to school, feeling embarrassed, hut, and God knows what else. My heart was a stormy sea, literally. I still really liked Gaara, so that brought in the rain clouds. Then Sasuke came in and did all of that stuff yesterday, stirring the crashing waves and lightning. I reached to clutch the cloth of my shirt, which covered my heart.

"Tsukiko?" I looked up to see Kayla, with Neji in tow.

"Hey," I mumbled, not bothering to disguise my melancholy.

"You going to be okay?" she asked. "That new girl is coming today…"

"I guess," I answered quickly. I didn't feel like hearing her go on and rant about something random, like Turkish Delight.

"You know you still sit beside Gaara, right?" inquired Neji. I took a step back. I had completely forgotten about that.

"I'll just switch with the new chick. She and Gaara are probably-" I stopped. I caught a glimpse of red hair. It made my jaw drop. It was Gaara and Kotori, the girl who called me her enemy the day before, and they were holding hands. I was vexed, quite vexed, just as Sasuke was. I turned my gaze away from them. Quickly looking for an escape, I ran into the school, to our classroom. All of the desks had names on them, except for the one beside Sasuke.

I groaned and contemplated my decision. I could keep my seat beside Gaara and have my heart pounding and hurting at the same time, or switch with Kotori, who obviously was going to get the empty seat beside Sasuke, who I have no clue how to react to his every prod.

"Damn it," I said. The door slid opened behind me and my classmates filed inside. I took my usual desk. I gaped at each person individually and saw Gaara. He instantly shot me a irresolute look and took his seat beside me, not saying anything at all. I mentally sighed and put my head on my desk, shutting my eyes.

Gaara's P.O.V

He picked up Kotori from school that morning. Gaara was nervous, but nonetheless excited, for lack of a better word. They were halfway to school when Kotori turned to him.

"Are we, like, going out now?" she asked. Gaara shrugged. If they were, it sure didn't feel any different that before they were.

"Okay, then, I want to go on a date together soon," Kotori smiled. She was absolutely radiant. Gaara's lips curled into a small smile in response to Kotori's smile. Gaara felt happy but a little guilty at the same time. Tsukiko entered his mind. The look on her face when he asked her to leave was painful, sorrowful, but there, buried in it all, was a tiny bit of happiness. Gaara couldn't help but wonder what that happiness was directed at.

A hand grabbed his and Gaara broke out of his thoughts and back into reality. He still really liked Kotori.

Tsukiko's P.O.V

Kakshi-sensei came into the classroom and surprisingly enough, he asked for our attention. I sprang up from my nap and sniffed.

"I would like to welcome a new student," he said. "Her name is Kotori Osara, everyone try to make her feel welcome." Then Kotori, pranced into the room. All of the boys' jaws dropped and I rolled my eyes. I then scowled to myself and ran a finger around in circles on the desk. I think I was already hating her.

"Hello, my name is Kotori," she said demurely, taking a bow, "and that man over there-" she pointed to Gaara, "-is my boyfriend." There was a cornucopia of gasps followed by a short whistle. I figured that the person who whistled was Falcon, she was one who liked to be unconform. Kakashi-sensei walked over to her.

"Now, Kotori, we only have one free seat," he explained, "and that is beside Sasuke. So-"

"Can I have the seat beside Gaara?" she interrupted.

"But that seat is already taken," he said. I gathered my stuff together and stood up.

"It's okay," I smiled falsely, "she can have my seat."

"Well, Tsukiko, then take the seat beside Sasuke," Kakashi-sensei ordered and I nodded.

_Even if it means misery for me, _I thought, _it's for Gaara's happiness._ I went, thought reluctantly to the empty seat beside Sasuke. I made my face as emotionless as humanly possible, but my sadness leached thought the look in my eyes. I could see the smirk on Sasuke's face.

"I'm doing this for Gaara," I muttered incessantly. I sat down at the desk and Sasuke leaned over to me.

"Finally deciding you like me better than that wet blanket over there?" he whispered.

"I'm doing this for Gaara," I repeated.

"Sure," he smirked.

"I AM," I spat.

"Who're you trying to convince?" Sasuke muttered.

"You," I retorted. I put my head on my desk, groaning. This would NOT be fun. Even though Gaara was happy, I obviously was not. I wanted to be left alone. Unfortunately, I would get no such peace from Sasuke. He poked my side as sharply as he could.

"Go away Sas-gay," I muttereg balefully. There was another jab and I snapped my head up. I glared pins and needles at Sasuke. He leered at me and I frowned.

"Having a nice time?" I growled.

"Hn," was the reply. I reached out and flicked his ear. Sasuke shuddered and I scoffed at him. There was a loud coughing from the front corner of the room. It was Falcom and I glowered at her. He smiled credulously at me. Rotating my eyes, I rested my head on my desk again. The period bell rang, giving us ten minutes before our next class. I closed my eyes, trying to shut out the world. Ten minutes before the next teacher came in was all I needed to take a power nap and figure things out. Gaara's face was vivdly implanted in my mind. The battle broke out.

'Why are you pining for him? There's no point, he loves that other girl, Kotori,' the little voice started.

_Well you know that may or may not last._

'What about Sasuke?'

_He's a bitch._

'No seriously, he seems nice enough.'

_He made a kid commit suicide! A person can't be completely innocent because of that!_

'You never know,' were the last words before the bell rang again. I sat up groggily, rubbing my eyes. I yawned then the scent of smoke drifted into my nostrils. It was Asuma-sensei. The dude was a complete chain smoker. I was surprised that he hadn't been into surgery for lung cancer or any other malady. Asuma-sensei walked in, cigarette in mouth and smile on his face. Shikamaru and Ino went and threw open the windows. I got out a handkerchief and tied it around my nose and mouth. The smoke wasn't too bad as I breathed in and out.

"Today class, we will be starting our fairy tales. These stories will be written paragraph by paragraph, or, if you want to be simple, an improv' story," Asuma-sensei explained. "I've chosen the pairs, but I had a group of three: Sasuke, Tsukiko, and Gaara-," That would've been fun, "-but I have to split you up now. Umm, Tsukiko, could you go with Kotori?" I shrugged. I didn't give a…well, I didn't care either way.

"Okay," Asuma said, "Gaara you go with Kotori." I saw him nod, the excitement in his eyes resonating. Oh crap, that meant I was paired with Sasuke.

"With that out of the way," Asuma sighed, taking a puff of his cigarette, "the assignment is to write a three page story. For the improv', as I've already explained, one partner will write one paragraph and then the other will write one. You don't have to have any particular plot line. You can begin now." I rolled my eyes and looked at Sasuke. He had already taken a piece of paper and a couple of pens out and set them out on the desks.

"Do you want to start?" I asked, pointing at the supplies.

"Hn," he grumbled, and picked up a pen to write. I fiddled with my hair and tapped my fingers on the desk.

"Done," Sasuke said, sliding the paper over to me. I looked down at it, his writing neat, but slanted.

'Once, there was a handsome prince. The prince was quite intelligent too, though he was called a homosexual by numerous of his subjects. The prince would always sentence them to death, as he would not have such insolent people.'

I frowned. It sounded so stupid. I pressed my pen to the page and wrote.

'Then, there was a princess in a land faraway from the prince's. The princess had heard of the prince and thought that he was a pompous fool. Nobody deserved to die when they voiced their opinions. Without even meeting, the princess hated the prince.'

I slid the paper back on Sasuke's desk. He read it and looks at me with a raised eyebrow. I smirked while tilting my head a little. Sasuke looked down at the sheet and wrote furiously.

'Also, the prince had head of the princess and thought bad of her. He thought that her goody-goody act was stupid. Her sense of just was warped, the prince thought that SHE was the gay one.'

I grabbed the paper from him. I scowled, clutching the paper. I slammed it down on the desk and began to write.

'Unfortunately for the prince, the princess was already in love with a man. This man was poor, but the princess didn't care. She visited him a lot. The princess contemplated about asking the man about his feelings.'

I simpered and shoved the paper in Sasuke's face. He stared at it angrily. Sasuke wrote quickly, his writing almost illegible. He smacked it onto my desk, as we were now writing on the back of the page.

'But the princess' father had other plans. He was going to make his daughter marry the prince, so that the alliance of the two kingdoms could be strengthend. Neither the prince nor the princess liked the idea, but they agreed anyways. It was their duty.'

I frowned then sighed, Of course, it had to be that way. Glaring at Sasuke, I wrote to counter his part.

'Still, the princess wanted to be with the man she loved. She devised a plan to get herself out of her arranged marriage. The princess was just going wing her plan when the time came.'

I sighed, as I couldn't think of anything. I slid the paper tiredly over to Sasuke.

"This is going nowhere," I muttered.

"Oh, it will," Sasuke scoffed. I glanced over at Gaara and Kotori. They were talking, er, it looked more like that were arguing. Gaara caught my gaze and I shot a look that said, "SAVE ME!" He started to laugh out loud. Everyone looked at him. I groaned. It was his own fault that he laughed at me.

Then the bell rang for lunch. I got up hastily, wanting to get away from Sasuke. I headed over to Gaara and Kotori, who still seemed to be arguing.

"Then you're my boyfriend, aren't you?" muttered Kotori.

"Well, I can't just abandon her," Gaara retorted, "she's my best friend and who knows what Sasuke will do."

"But-"

"Hey, um, Gaara," I interrupted, "Are we going to eat on the roof or not?" Gaara looked from me to Kotori then back to me. He sighed and swiftly grabbed Kotori's hand.

"Kotori's going to join us, 'kay?" he said more demanding than asked. I nodded, sighing mentally.

Gaara's P.O.V

He couldn't help it. The look on Tsukiko's face was priceless. Sure, Gaara had burst out laughing, (A/N: Which I know it TOTALLY OOC for him!) but the laugh was worth it. After he had calmed down, Kotori was glaring at him.

"Why'd you do that?" she demanded.

"'Cause the face that Tsukiko made was priceless," Gaara confessed. Kotori frowned at Gaara, though he didn't know why. He liked it better when a smile graced Kotori's face.

"Well, I'm your girlfriend, right?" Kotori asked threateningly. Gaara frowned. Kotori was being completely possessive and jealous.

"Yes, Kotori, you are my girlfriend," Gaara replied, groaning in his mind.

"Then, just abandon her, the boat of love only carries two, you know. Plus, she has her other friends. Then you're my boyfriend, aren't you?" muttered Kotori.

"Well, I can't just abandon her," Gaara retorted, "She's my best friend and who knows what Sasuke will do." Every word was true straight from Gaara's heart. He quickly glowered at Kotori before Tsukiko interrupted.

"But-" was all Kotori could spit.

Tsukiko's P.O.V

It was awkward; actually, awkward couldn't even begin to describe the atmosphere. I, who was eating a tangerine, was silent. Gaara ate nothing and sat as still as a rock too. Then, Kotori, who munched on yakisoba bread she bought, was quiet as well. Basically, anyone could hear a pin drop. We sat uncomfortably in the gauche stillness until the roof's door burst open. I jumped, the surprise was that great. My eyes widened. There stood Sasuke, looking completely pissed. He stomped over to our little awkward, erm, triangle.

"Help me get rid of my stalker," he said.

"I am not a stalker," a voice shouted. A man/woman appeared in the doorway. This person's eyes were yellow-green and had purple eyeliner drawn on thickly. This, person was a total creeper. It, I decided, had long greasy black hair. It had pale skin, perhaps even paler than Falcon's, which is saying a lot.

"Sasuke-_kun_, I was just checking up on you," the person's voice was manly, but spoke in a very feminine way. Its voice seemed to hide an ulterior motive.

"Orochimaru, fuck off," Sasuke growled. Orochimaru pawed at the air then put its hands on its hips.

"Is that any way to talk to your former tutor?" Orochimaru pouted.

"Aha," I giggled, "Sas-gay had a tutor, who is, um, uh, WE NEED A GENDER TEST!" Silence, it was definitely having a laugh at us at that moment.

"I am a guy," Orochimaru said. I grinned evilly, as I came up with an idea.

"Oh, Sasuke-_kun_," I cooed in the same tone as Orochimaru, "is this the guy that gave it to you in the ass?" I swore I could hear a popping noise. Sasuke's face turned beet red and he had an expression that looked like he was going to kill me. Noticing the oppourtunity, Orochimaru quickly glomped Sasuke.

"Yeah, I wish," Orochimaru whined, "but it would most likely be Sasuke-_kun_ as the one on top." Gaara and I burst out laughing. (A/N: I know, totally OOC, but still…) As we were calming ourselves from our fit of laughter, Old Man Sarutobi appeared and literally peeled Orochimaru off of Sasuke.

"Come and see me soon, Sasuke_-kun_," Orochimaru called, giving Sasuke a quick wink before he disappeared with Old Man Sarutobi. I sniggered, kidding my smile from Sasuke. Kotori was surpressing some giggles too and Gaara's mouth twitched at the corner. Sasuke shot all of us a look before storming off, fists clenched at his sides.

The lunch bell rang and we went back to our class. After lunch, we had Kurenai-sensei. She was our art teacher. I groaned in my head. I loathed art, alas, we were all forced to take it. I preferred gym and music. I like to play the flute. Its sound was gentle and sweet, a polar opposite to me. Maybe I hated art because I was so bad at it. Art passed at a snail's pace and so did science. I closed my eyes. My elbow sat on the desk and my head rested on my palm. As soon as I got comfortable, there was a quick tap on my shoulder.

"Go away Sas-gay," I hissed.

"Excuse me?" My eyes flew open. Our science teacher, Iruka-sensei was standing over me, his face looking harsh.

"Crap," I uttered.

"Now, can you answer the question u on the board?" Iruka-sensei asked. I gaped at the chalkboard and couldn't make heads or tails of the chicken scratch.

"I'll answer it," the person beside me said. I looked up at Sasuke, who was now standing. There was some muttering around the classroom and a short, shrill whistle. I glanced around the room and my eyes came upon Falcon. She smiled evilly and waved. I glared at her, but she continued to smile. Sasuke went up to the board and picked up a piece of chalk. He wrote down the answer and headed back to his desk. Iruka-sensei went up to the board and sighed.

"Correct, Sasuke," he said.

"You owe me one," he muttered, "actually, if you count the fact that I listened to you while you were crying, you owe me, two."

"One, you already took my first kiss," I snapped in a whisper, "Two, I WAS, key word, WAS, willing to give you a chance in my heart, so, we're even." His eyebrows arched and I narrowed my eyes.

"''Tis nothing but a scratch,'" I said, breaking to intense stares.

"'A scratch? Your arm's off,'" Sasuke replied. A small smile crept upon my face.

* * *

**Rin: Alright, alright… The appearance of Orochi! I just had to put that in. He won't show up again…I think. Anyways, I just thought that putting that little thing in would get things back to the humour part of things. I hope you like it! Oh, the quotes are from monty python on the holy grail, if you were wondering. Once again, sorry for taking so long. I probably won't be able to post for another week or so, me ish going on holidays then to buffalo to play softball.  
Please read and review.**


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